1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and, more particularly, to an electrical connector having two rows of connecting terminals or contactors, one end of each terminal having a bent and protruding tail portion which is disposed in such a manner that the tail portions as a whole are aligned in a row and at which the electrical connector is connected to a flat cable, in particular, to a flat cable for transmitting high speed pulse signals or those each having a short pulse width between computer mainframes or between a computer mainframe and any of its peripherals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 5 of the drawing shows a female connector 1 of the type described above which is used for high speed signal transmitting flat cable.
The connector 1 has two rows of connecting terminals or contactors 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d. Terminals for signal lines 3a, 2b, 3c, and 2d and the terminals for ground lines 2a, 3b, 2c, and 3d among the two rows of terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are located alternately or in a zigzag or checkerboard pattern when viewed from a side of the connector 1 to which pins are to be inserted. One end of each of the terminals of connector 1 is connected to a flat cable 4. In FIG. 5, a reference symbol S indicates a signal line terminal, while G designates a ground line terminal. This alternate or checkerboard pattern arrangement of the signal line terminals or the signal lines S and the ground line terminals or the ground lines G is effective to reduce the crosstalk between the signal terminals or the signal lines. In the electrical connector described above, each terminal row is described as having four terminals only for ease and clarification of the explanation. However, it may include five or more, or three or less, terminals.
In the known female connector 1 of the abovedescribed type which is shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 7, connecting terminals 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d, which respectively correspond to the connecting terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d; 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d of the connector 1 shown in FIG. 5, are each formed of a bent metal sheet 103 hving the same shape. The two rows of terminals are disposed in such a manner that those in one row correspond to those in the other row when they are turned by 180 degrees. In the conventional connector 1, tail portions 106a, 107a, 106b, 107b, 106c, 107c, 106d, and 107d bendingly protrude from the sides of the respective terminals 102a, . . . , 102d, 103a, . . . , 103d at which the terminals are adapted to be connected to an external cable, in such a manner that they are aligned in a row. These tail portions are therefore aligned in the order of G, S, S, G, G, S, S, and G, as shown in FIG. 6.
When the tail portions of the terminals are aligned in the manner shown in FIG. 6, the tail portions for the signal lines are brought adjacent to each other, as in the case of the tail portions 107a and 106b or the tail portions 107c and 106d, increasing the possibility of occurrence of the crosstalk of signals to be transmitted through the adjacent respective tail portions.
The present invention is designed to obviate the above-described problem of crosstalk, and an object thereof is to provide an electrical connector which is so improved as to reduce the possibility of occurrence of crosstalk between the tail portions at which the terminals are connected to an external cable.